Buddhist Nun

All posts tagged Buddhist Nun

In the preceding post – An Important Peek to the 2018 Year of the Earth Dog: Bleak Financial Forecast and Early Preparation is Key!– I talked about how the remaining three months (November, December, January) of the 2017 Lunar Year, is besieged with conflicting energies that it becomes a challenging three months. Furthermore, one will find it hard to harness one’s wealth luck or financial luck in the said last three months. But what is quite disturbing is that the Bazi Chart of 2018 Year of the Earth Dog indicates that the year is devoid of the metal element which for the year represents wealth luck / financial luck / money luck.

This means that the year is going to be financially challenging.

And so Guru Lama has recently released the VAISRAVANA – DZAMBHALA WEALTH AMULET, to help address this concern. But on top of that this year a gold Piyao (also spelled as Pi Yao, Pixie, Pi Xie, Pixiu, Pi Xiu) plays an important role for us to be able to harness wealth luck or financial luck or money luck this year. But if you read thru the post, which a big part has been written in the preceding post, you will see that the Piyao is not just for 2018, it is a Feng Shui charm with Buddhist and Taoist influence (as you will see it a lot in both Buddhist and Taoist temples) and always play an important role in our lives. I personally constantly wear a jade Piyao and makes sure that I have some extras just in case it broke. But this time, I’m upgrading to a gold Piyao and not just any gold Piyao but the Special Gold Piyao designed and released by Guru Lama.

The Piyao is part of the Three Celestial Guardian but on it’s own is a powerful celestial being, when its image is worn or displayed, bestows great merit of protection and wealth!

Guru Lama is releasing a SPECIAL GOLD PIYAO (also spelled as Pi Yao, Pi Xiu, Pixiu, Pi Xie, Pixie). A Piyao is quite common, but as I always say it is best to get the one with an active stance and not the one lying down or relax stance, this is specially true for 2018 Year of the Earth Dog.

A Piyao or Pixiu or Pi Xie is a celestial animal or being known for its protective qualities when facing the Tai Suey. This celestial animal that is part of the Three Celestial Guardian is a great ‘peace’ offering to the Tai Suey or Grand Duke Jupiter. However, more than just as an offering it is a very powerful wealth accumulator.

As mentioned, the Pi Yao or Pi Xie is a mystical creature that is particularly powerful and auspicious. It is said to have a voracious appetite that is infinite. The interesting part is that the Pi Yao does not have an anus, which means things only go in but never come out. On top of that, the Piyao as directed by the Jade Emperor (who is the highest God in Taoism but is a powerful heavenly being in the Buddhism) is only able to eat gold and silver. It is therefore a favorite must-have for businessmen and merchants who want money to come in and not spill out a dime. It is no wonder that Pi Yao can often be seen in banks, casinos, foreign exchange markets and finance companies in Oriental countries. I mentioned earlier that traditionally, a Piyao is not an animal meant to be worshipped, but, in countries like Thailand and Cambodia, people worship the Pi Yao and offer incense and flowers within business premises. Having said this, if your Piyao is made of natural crystal its okay to light an incense in front of your Piyao not to worship it but to cleanse it from a negative ‘energies’.

Aside from this, the Chinese adore the Pi Yao because of its very protective, obedient and loyal nature. It is believed that the Pi Yao will always try its best to grant its owner’s wishes and protect its owner from injuries. Because of these capabilities, smaller versions of Pi Yao are often worn as amulets. Many stories have been told where victims of car accidents or robbery assaults surprisingly escaped the ordeal unharmed and found out later that the Pi Yao amulets they were wearing or keeping had mysteriously broken into two or damaged. It is said that their Pi Yao had sacrificed themselves to protect their owner. Treat your Pi Yao like it’s a real pet – pat them, rub them – a happy Pi Yao will go the extra mile to grant your wishes.

Note: The Pi Yao, like the Dragon, although highly revered and considered as really powerful, are not meant to be worshipped. The Fu Dogs and Piyaos are usually placed and used as temple, imperial court guardians. However, unlike the Fu Dogs, Pi Yao are also usually placed outside business establishments, banks to act not only as guardians but also as wealth catchers. There are some establishments in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan that have the Fu Dogs in their gate or outer door and a pair of Pi Yao in the main entrance or in the lobby.

Regular readers of this blog knows that even if the bazi chart of the year doesn’t lack wealth luck, I still firmly believes in the power of the Pi Yao or Pi Xie or Pi Xiu. But on 2018 Year of the Earth Dog and the coming years, starting this last quarter of the 2017 lunar year, the Pi Yao plays an important role for everybody. It is one of the Holy Trinity for the year, the will ultimately play an important role for one’s security in wealth luck / financial luck / money luck.

Note: Pi Yao is also a wonderful symbol to appease the Grand Duke Jupiter or Tai Sui. Depending on your horoscope sign, you might be offending the Grand Duke in a particular year, directly or indirectly. If your horoscope sign is in conflict with the Grand Duke, you will suffer a year of bad luck and obstacles. Those afflicted with Tai Sui should display the Pi Yao where the annual Grand Duke Jupiter resides in your home as well as carry a Pi Yao protection amulet. The person with the Chinese horoscope sign that is in direct conflict with the Grand Duke Jupiter MUST wear a Pi Yao charm either as a pendant or as a bracelet throughout the year of affliction to guard himself or herself from misfortunes. This practice is highly recommended by Feng Shui enthusiasts.

People who personally know me might have seen the jade Pi Yao that I regularly wear on my wrist with my citrine bracelet. However, this year I will upgrade it to the Special Gold Piyao released by Guru Lama.

There are a lot of Piyao in the market, but what makes this special?

This is specially designed by Guru Lama so that it best represents and embody the wealth acquiring abilities and also fight the negative energies of the remaining lunar months of 2017 and also the lack of money making energies of 2018.

This limited Special Gold Piyao has 4 horns that represents the four cardinal directions – East, West, North, and South. This means that one will be able to take by the horn the challenges to gain financial luck. It also has fierce but still friendly face, this indicates that while you can be fierce in business or work, you will still gain the support and admiration of the people around you. This also means that you can you charm to get to your wealth luck. Furthermore, it is a ‘special harness’ so one can ‘harness’ it’s energy, this is something that is not found in any other Piyao’s or Pi Xie’s. On top of that they designed the said Pi Xie’s with 12 heavenly money coins to represent wealth luck for each of the 12 lunar months. The coins are found on it’s back and also at the bottom part of the image and on his legs, so this represents that it walks on money and is need not ‘search’ for it. On top of the 12 ‘big’ heavenly money coin, it also has another 5 heavenly money coin on each side of the it’s harness. This further represents that the ‘owner’ of the Pi Yao can harness wealth into his or her life. On each side of its hind legs is the symbol for protection. This represents protection from earthly dangers and envious eyes, and also harmony so that one doesn’t get into a rough, hostile situation is one’s quest to simply get more financial luck to provide for one’s family. Also incorporated is the symbol for longevity to constantly provide good health. Lastly, although quite small and not easily visible, the Piyao was designed to have strong sharp teeth, to represent its power to fight off demons and also negative energies that might cause bad luck. There are a lot of Piyaos especially those that are made out of jade or other stones, but this one is specially designed to confront the remaining negative 3 month of the lunar 2017, and the lack of wealth energies of the 2018 Year of the Earth Dog. But on top of that, the gold used in making the said Piyao are gold from the offering of the Sangha members to the temple.

This is a special gold Piyao designed by Guru Lama and made of blessed gold.

This limited Special Gold Piyao has 4 horns that represents the four cardinal directions – East, West, North, and South. This means that one will be able to take by the horn the challenges to gain financial luck.

It also has fierce but still friendly face, this indicates that while you can be fierce in business or work, you will still gain the support and admiration of the people around you. This also means that you can you charm to get to your wealth luck.

On top of that they designed the said Pi Xie’s with 12 heavenly money coins to represent wealth luck for each of the 12 lunar months. The coins are found on it’s back and also at the bottom part of the image and on his legs, so this represents that it walks on money and is need not ‘search’ for it.

On top of the 12 ‘big’ heavenly money coin, it also has another 5 heavenly money coin on each side of the it’s harness. This further represents that the ‘owner’ of the Pi Yao can harness wealth into his or her life. On each side of its hind legs is the symbol for protection. This represents protection from earthly dangers and envious eyes, and also harmony so that one doesn’t get into a rough, hostile situation is one’s quest to simply get more financial luck to provide for one’s family. Also incorporated is the symbol for longevity to constantly provide good health

Buddhist would offer money, food, flowers, oil, incense to an image, but a lot of them especially those are in grave situations will also offer gems and gold. It can be a gold necklace, gold bracelet, gold ring, or gold earrings, but it is not surprising to see even real miniature/small gold bars or gold coins (such are those found in Dubai or China). These gold offerings are recorded for proper auditing and put in a special container under the foot of either the image of Sakyamuni Buddha (Sakyamuni Buddha), Medicine Buddha, Amitabha Buddha, Dipankara Buddha (Dipamkara Buddha), Bodhisattva Kuan Yin (also spelled as Kuan Shi Yin, Guan Yin, Guan Shi Yin, Quan Yin, Quan Shi Yin, Avalokitesvara, Kannon, Chenrezig), Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva (Earth Store Bodhisattva / Di Zhang Wang Pu Sa) or Vajrapani Bodhisattva. They are just there for years, and whenever the Bhiksu (Monks) or Bhiksuni (Buddhist nuns) with the higher lamas chant mantras or recite sutras or perform pujas, the said jewelries or gold offerings are blessed as well. Then the once in a while they open one of these containers to melt the gold to make an image of a Buddha or Bodhisattva or makes gold flakes out of it so that when we invite an amulets, they can ‘sell’ these gold to make said images of Buddhas or Bodhisattvas or plate images under our name. This becomes a way for them to raise funds to make more images or temple or food for the monks especially the student monks and also for their food.

So you see, because they stay under an image for years, and they get the power from the chanting of mantras, reciting of sutras, or pujas from the Bhiksu, Bhiksuni, or the high lamas like Guru Lama, these gold items becomes really blessed. And this is what Guru Lama has used to make the said Special Gold Piyao.

But simply wearing a Piyao or the Special Gold Piyao is not enough. You need to ensure that the element produces metal is constantly present in your life as well. Thus the Special Gold Piyao is strung along with some crystals. However, this is where it becomes personalized because the crystal or semi – precious stone while largely earth element that will harness the growth of metal, should also be dependent on the element that best represents your own wealth luck. So for some it will be citrine, some will be amethyst (like me), some may have jade or aventurine, some may have clear quartz or a moonstone, and some may have lapis lazuli or tourmaline or onyx.

As mentioned the Special Gold Piyao will play an important role and is one of the Holy Trinity must have amulets of the year. However, having this Special Gold Piyao for the rest of your life will also prove to be a powerful tool to continue to harness wealth luck / financial luck / money luck and also serves a great protection charm. Furthermore, if you find yourself confronted by Tai Suey or the Grand Duke Jupiter, it also serves as great ‘offering’.

To understand this year’s forecast, you should read all the other related 2018 Year of the Earth Dog Feng Shui Forecasts:

Several posts ago, I wrote about the “FIFTEEN MERIT DAYS: A GIFT FROM THE HEAVEN TO HELP PROTECT US FROM THE ILL EFFECTS OF THE YEAR!” I suggest before you read on about today’s post, please read the first two parts of the said post to understand it better. Just click here (Part 1) and here (Part 2).

Throughout the first fifteen days, there are going to be some special days wherein we celebrate or honor a day of a Buddha or Bodhisattva. I suggest you continuously check this blog every morning for 15 days (which started last Feb. 8, 2016) to know whether there is a special ritual for the day. It’s not everyday that we have this ‘special days’ within the Fifteen Merit Days.

This is the last day of the ‘Fifteen Merit Days’ and this is indeed a special day because there are fifteen special merit acts that we can do today to earn more merits for the year.

Do as much as you can if not all of the mantras and sutras found in this post (please click here).

Feed an animal.

Light incense for somebody who is sick or suffering.

Light incense for your country and this world.

Offer flowers to an image of Buddha or Bodhisattva. For Catholics you can do this for your God or Saints.

Make a tea offering in a temple or your home altar. Three teacups will do.

Donate some money to a temple or church.

Donate some money to a Buddhist monk or nun or a priest or a nun.

Donate vegetarian food to a temple or foundation.

Buy as many items as you can from a street vendor.

Wear a prayer wheel.

Go Vegan!

Give an image of a Buddha or Bodhisattva (either pendant or for display) to a friend or even a stranger.

Make peace with somebody who has done some bad things to you. E.g. cheated you falsely accused you, said bad things against you, etc.

Make 50 – 100 prostrations in front of a Buddha or Bodhisattva image. (For those who can’t physically do this, you can make half – bows instead.)

Doing all the above will ensure that you will sow a lot of good merits.

Again to better understand the 2016 Year of the Fire Monkey it will be good to read all the forecast. I know it is quite long but it is important for you to see the big picture.

As I said in the first two parts of this series the Kuan Yin Miracles stories are being shared because I want to stress the point that as much as Buddhist amulets like the very much coveted Vajrapani Ruel are powerful tools to have to help us tap into the blessings of the Buddhas or Bodhisattvas, one need not have them to experience their wonderful and amazing power.

The first two of this series was shared with me by a Zen Master and this next story was shared with me by a dear friend.

CL is the eldest of 4 children. He was also brought up as a Catholic Christian, but has mentally converted to Buddhism because he felt that it was Buddhism who was able to answer some of his pressing questions about suffering.

The very first thing he learned about Buddhism are Karma and Buddha himself, but when he heard about the story of Kuan Yin he seem to have felt some affinity with the Bodhisattva of Compassion, so much so that he started wearing an image of Kuan Yin Bodhisattva.

One day, when he was working in his office, all of a sudden they experienced a power outage. Thinking that it was a normal brownout, they decided to ignore it. CL is working on the 11th floor of a 12 – storey high building. He and his officemates ignored the power outage, and continued working with the help of the sunlight coming in from their office windows.

After a while they started hearing sirens from a fire truck and they wondered as to where the fire is, but generally ignored it. But then, his officemate got a call from one of their colleagues. This particular colleague was out of the office for some errand and was just returning from work. Apparently, CL’s office building was on fire which started a floor below from CL’s office, which is on the 10th floor. They didn’t notice the smoke because the fire was on the other side of the building. Furthermore, as what appeared in the investigation afterwards, the fire alarm system of the building didn’t worked.

When they were informed of the fire, that’s when they noticed the smoke coming in from beneath the floor. His other officemate made the mistake of opening the door, and soon their office was also on fire. Meanwhile, their colleagues who were downstairs informed the fire fighters that some people where still in the 101th floor. Their ladder was unable to reach the 11th floor, but CL and his officemates were instructed to get break the glass of one of the windows, and there is a fire escape ladder just outside of it. They did as they were instructed.

Maybe they were in a panic, or maybe it is because it was an old building and the fire escape ladder has never been used and was so rusty that they’re unable to push it down. Furthermore, only one person can step out of the window to fire escape ladder because more than one would also put them in danger of falling off the building. By this time, everybody was already scared, and some felt hopeless. They were 8 of them in the office, which is already on fire. Out of desperation, CL fervently called on Kuan Yin to help, and started chanting Kuan Yin’s name. CL can’t be sure, but he thinks on the third time he called on Kuan Yin’s name, the fire in their office seems to have simply been blown out by a strong wind, and at the same time, the guy in the fire escape ladder said that he was able to successfully pushed the ladder down.

To make the long story short, they were all able to escape without any injury, aside from being really shaken, and for a brief check – up to ensure that they are all fine and had not suffered any damaged because of smoke inhalation.

CL firmly believes that it was Kuan Yin who helped them escaped that day!

If you wish to know more about Kuan Yin, please do read the following posts:

In my previous post, I said I’d be sharing three different Kuan Yin miracles stories. The first of these two stories are shared with me by a Zen Master, while the last account is something that I personally heard from the one who experienced it.

I wanted to share these amazing stories to help people realize that although I believe in the power of wearing Buddhist amulets like the Vajrapani Ruel, I still believe that miracles can still happen with or without them.

In the first part of this series, I shared the story of DY and that of her helper. How somebody who doesn’t even know Kuan Yin Bodhisattva, at the time of her extreme need was able to get the Bodhisattva’s help.

Today, allow me to share another wonderful Kuan Yin miracle story. This happened in Oklahoma. As most people in the US would know, Oklahoma is usually visited by strong tornadoes. In one of the strongest tornado that hit the place, a mother and her son experienced the compassionate miracle of Kuan Yin Bodhisattva.

I don’t know their names, so for purposes of this post we will call the mom KB, short for Kuan Yin believer. KB is is an American who attends a Buddhist class in Oklahoma, where he found out about Kuan YIn.

Being a single mom, KB was naturally very busy in trying to earn a living and in raising her son, because of this she missed out in monitoring the warning issued for one of the worst tornado to hit Oklahoma. It was already too late and she was unable to run to safety when she found out about the tornado, and she can already felt it’s force. She can do nothing else but embrace her 4 year – old son and call out for help to Kuan Yin Bodhisattva. However, all of a sudden she felt her son being pulled away from her by the strong wind and she lost consciousness.

KB woke up in the hospital, and when her doctor, who happens to be somebody she knows as well, saw her the first thing that the doctor told her was that she’s very lucky because she was found several blocks away from her house, and aside from minor injuries she is perfectly fine. She was also told that her house was flattened, and that she need not worry about her son because her son is in the other room.

KB went to see her son to see how he was doing even though her doctor and friend had informed her that her son was doing fine. That’s when she heard from her son what really happened.

According to KB’s son, when they were pulled apart, a woman in white appeared and carried them off to safety, after which this woman fought with the tornado and won. The story in the eyes of the 4 – year – old boy is quite simple, but KB firmly believes in her heart, that the woman in white is no other than Kuan Yin Bodhisattava, which is oftenly portrayed as a lady in white.

So remember powerful amulets such as the Vajrapani Ruel are tools, you can still experience amazing miracles even if you don’t have the Vajrapani Ruel as long as you have faith.

If you wish to know more about Kuan Yin Bodhisattva, please do read the following posts:

Today, allow me to share with you some amazing stories of miracle associated with Kuan Yin Bodhisattva, also known as Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, or Goddess of Mercy or Bodhisattva of Compassion very often mistakenly called as Buddha of Compassion, or Kannon (Japanese, and also spelled as Cannon). She is perhaps one of the most popular Bodhisattva of Buddhism, so much so that she was adopted by Taoism as their Goddess and also most Christians, who believes in Feng Shui associates her to the Virgin Mary.

I have written extensively about Bodhisattva Kuan Yin before and you may read all three articles by clicking on the link/blog title below:

As you can see, I really want to share more stories that talks about natural remedies to problems and/or the power of Buddhas or Bodhisattvas even without the aid of amulets or charms like the WISH FUFLFILLING AND BUDDHA’S BLESSING MANTRA PENDANT and VAJRAPANI RUEL or other Feng Shui cures. I do believe in these things, I believe that these things are aids in hastening the miracles we need in our life. And they are very effective in helping us get the blessings that a lot of us really need in our life. But my mistake is sometimes I have unconsciously led people to believe that natural remedies or basic cures such as FIRM BELIEF, MANTRAS, SUTRAS, and other NATURAL FENG SHUI CURES such as the use of fruits, salt, etc. are not as effective. These things especially when done fervently and with faith are equally effective, or maybe even much more effective, as the Kuan Yin miracles series will show. So please read on and realize that while amulets are wonderful tools for us to tap into the power of the Buddhas or Bodhisattvas, we need not despair if we can’t have them or if we can’t afford them.

Avalokitesvara or Kuan Yin is known as Cannon in Japan. Notice that even though the image looks feminine, the breast is exposed and its flat signifying a breast of a man. This is to signify that Kuan Yin has no gender.

The first two of these three stories were shared with me by a Zen Master that I really trust, and one of the two stories she shared happened here in the Philippines. The third story was something I personally heard from a dear friend.

DY is a Filipina of Chinese descent who grew up here in the Philippines. She was raised as a Catholic and never really believed in Buddha, much more with Bodhisattvas like Kuan Yin. However, when a friend invited her to attend a Buddhist class, she found out about Kuan Yin and started to develop a certain belief in Buddhism. However, she never took the formal vows of being a Buddhist and she has remained to be a Catholic. Until one day, something happened in their house that leads her to believe in Kuan Yin.

While talking to her house help, this helper started to shake and lose her consciousness. She was having some form of a seizure, and DY got really scared because she was at a lost as to how can she revived here helper. Out of desperation, she remembered what a Buddhist nun told in the class that in times of trouble, one could call on the name of Kuan Yin Bodhisattva by reciting OM MANI PADME HUM or NAMO KUAN SHI IN PUSA or NAMO KUAN YIN BODHISATTVA. So DY proceeded to whisper in the ear of her helper to call on Kuan Yin by chanting NAMO KUAN YIN BODHISATTVA. After a while, this helper’s seizure stopped and she became fine again. But that’s not the real miracle.

When DY talked to her helper, the helper confessed that it wasn’t the first time it happened, that it has happened to her several times in her province. She would always see this dark monstrous like figure who seems want to enter her body. She would fight it, and she’ll have a seizure. The difference is this time, she heard somebody tell to chant NAMO KUAN YIN BODHISATTVA, which she did, and all of a sudden a “bright” lady showed up and drove the monstrous like being away.

DY became a Buddhist after that incident.

As you can see in this story, neither DY or the helper really believes in Kuan Yin and neither are they wearing Kuan Yin pendants but they still were able to tap into the power of Kuan Yin Bodhisattva. Although, wearing the pendant of Kuan Yin Bodhisattva is not really essential for us to be able to tap into her blessings, wearing it as an homage to her will help us have stronger affinity with her.

Today, allow me to share one very simple way to cleanse negative karma. If you are having a spade of bad luck it is a sign that negative karma can be causing it, and one quick way of cleansing oneself of negative karma aside from chanting the Negative Karma Cleansing Mantra is to go to a temple and do a full prostrations to the Buddhas or Bodhisattvas three times. Aside from that meeting a Buddhist Monk or Nun and doing a full prostrations to them will also help cleanse negative karma.

The internet has made it possible for people to know more about Buddhism and Buddhist amulets, however, I’m afraid that the internet has also, in a way, distorted the real concept of Buddhism. Buddhism is not simply about lighting incense, or wearing images of the Buddhas or Bodhisattvas or Deities, or chanting mantras. Buddhist is all that but it is definitely much more than that, what I’ve written here on this blog, despite of the fact that some people saying it is substantial, is in reality just a fraction of what Buddhism really is.

Yes, the NAMTSO SALT, the VAJRAPANI RUEL, and the FOUR DHARMAKAYA RELIC MANTRAS AMULET are some of the most powerful amulets in the world. In fact, according to Lama Zopa Rinpoche, all stupas should contain the Four Dharmakaya Relic Mantras! (Speaking of Stupas and Four Dharmakaya Relic Mantras, in the next few days you shall read my post about it and regarding the special gift I got from a reader, AC. These are all written already but will be posted automatically via the scheduled post.) But these things are not available to everybody, and having a bigger picture of what Buddhism is all about is way better than simply having one of these items. The WISH FULFILLING AND BUDDHA’S BLESSING MANTRA PENDANT, which is no longer available for new requests until we have delivered all requests for it, also garnered some popularity the past two years with my inbox loaded with a lot of personal testimonies about it. Again, these are just tools, Buddhism is all so much more about that.

Thus, I have decided to come up with a new category and series called BASIC BUDDHISM. The objective of which is really to talk about Buddhism outside the amulets, the wearing of pendants. The topics are going to be pretty basic because I don’t think I can talk about Buddhism deeply, but the topics should be able to give you some basic guideline on Buddhist protocol and on basic Buddhism. Nevertheless, you should understand, that there are many lineage of Buddhism. In Tibetan Buddhism alone, there are four lineages, and there is Mahayana Buddhism and there is Zen Buddhism, and Pure Land Buddhism, their basic teachings are basically the same but there may be some variations. What I will discuss here is the Buddhism that I practice, which is a mixture of Tibetan, Mahayana and Zen Buddhism. I will try my best to be very specific as to what kind of Buddhism I’m talking about if it’s possible.

After the long introduction, today let me start with something quite simple, let me talk about a basic Buddhist protocol and I chose this topic because a lot of people have been asking me about this.

What to do when you meet a Buddhist monk or nun?

Let me start for non – Buddhist. Please do not stare at them, and if you have some belief and respect for Buddhism bowing your head is already a sign of respect.

For Buddhist, it is customary to greet Buddhist monks and nuns with OM MANI PADME HUM, or AMITOFU, or NAMASTE. Do this and do a half – bow, which is actually bowing, from your waist. Make sure that you put your palms together.

Make sure you don’t touch them, especially if you’re of different gender, this is considered disrespectful. In some countries, like Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, the Buddhist monks there are not even allowed to receive things from women.

It is customary to let them pass first and bow once they have pass.

For some lineage, especially Tibetan Buddhism, it is important that you don’t stand taller than the lama; so bending your knee a little is widely appreciated.